LEICHTBIER

AKA:
"Light" Beer; Alkoholarmes Bier, Erntebier ("harvest beer"), Dünnbier ("thin beer")

Pronunciation guide for English-speakers:
"lysht-beer" (pronounce the "sh" as in "fish")

Definition:
Leichtbier is just a lighter version, in terms of alcoholic strength and calories, of a regular beer. Most, though not all, Leichtbiers tend to have an alcohol content by volume of approximatey 2% to 3.2%, which places them in the Schankbier category, that is, above the alkoholfrei (non-alcoholic) category of less than 0.5% alcohol by volume and below the Vollbier (entire beer) category, which usually falls into the 4.5% to 5% alcohol-by-volume range. America's best-selling beer brand, Bud Light, by comparison, has an alcohol by volume level of 3.6%.

Related beer styles:
Alkoholfreies Bier, Diätbier, Malzbier

Let There Be "Light"

"Light" beers are usually fermented from a relatively weak, low-sugar extract (wort) produced from the mashed grain. While normal extracts have a solids content (mostly fermentable sugars) of about 11 — 12%, light extracts tend to have a solids content of no more than 4.5 — 7.5%.

Light brews have never achieved the mass appeal in Germany that they have in many other countries, including in the United States, where Bud Light is the biggest-selling beer brand. In Germany, all Leichtbiers combined hold a market share of just 0.7%, mostly with consumers concerned about their carbohydrate intake. German Leichtbiers are rarely imported into the U.S. Two notable exceptions are Beck's Light and Beck's Premier Light.

Traditionally, light beers were brewed only for people engaged in special, physically demanding, occupations. In the countryside, such brews were called Erntebier (harvest beer). During harvest time, at noon, the children on the farm usually took these beers out in earthenware crocks to the men toiling in the fields. Likewise, in areas with heavy industry, especially in the coal and steel region of the Ruhr Valley, light beers were called Dünnbier (thin beer). The steel companies usually supplied Dünnbier year-round, free of charge, and in unlimited quantities to the workers sweating near the molten steel pouring out of hot blast furnaces and being rolled into beams and sheets in the mills.

In spite of these traditions, modern Germans consider Leichtbier largely an American invention, one that does not appear to fit well with their preferences. For the Germans light beers are either not low enough in alcohol to keep a driver below the (German) legal limit of 0.5 parts per million blood alcohol; nor are they strong enough to satisfy those who do not need to drive. In fact, Leichtbiers often feature no German-language style designations on the label at all. Instead, German breweries frequently use the English term "light" to identify their "leicht," lower-alcohol products, even in their domestic markets.

A 12-ounce serving of light beer tends to have fewer than 7 grams carbohydrates. Beck's Light has 6.1 grams; Coors Light and Corona Light each have 5 grams; Beck's Premier Light, 3.9; Miller Lite, 3.2; and Michelob Ultra, 2.9. A regular mass-market beer has an average of 13 gram carbohydrates (Budweiser regular has 10.9, the standard Beck's beer, 10). A regular craft beer often has around 20.

In the United States, a brewery's "light" beer must have 20 percent fewer calories than its "regular" beer. A food's calory count or burn value includes not just carbohydrates, but also other nutrients such as fats and proteins, as well as alcohol. A two-ounce shot of 40% (80-proof) vodka, perhaps surprisingly, contains no carbohydrates, but it accounts for 130 calories; a 50%-vodka accounts for 170 calories.

Both in Germany and in the U.S., light beers tend to have between 90 and 110 calories per 12-ounce serving, which translates into between 125 and 150 calories for a standard half-liter bottle. The largest-selling beer in the United States, Bud Light, for instance, has 108 calories per 12 ounces; Coors Light and Corona Light, 105; Beck's Light has 103; Miller Lite and Michelob Ultra, 96; and Beck's Premier Light has only 64. Regular German "Vollbiers" (entire beers) and American mass-market beers, by comparison, have about half again as many calories as light beers, around 150 per 12 ounces. Michelob, for instance, has 166 calories; Miller High Life, 150; Beck's standard beer as well as Budweiser, 143; and Coors Premium 142.

Leichtbier, like all light beers, is best served chilled at a normal refrigerator temperature of about 45°F (7°C).